NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said Israel had helped India in military conflicts and been a reliable source of defence technology, even as he maintained that ties with Iran remained friendly, pointing to the latter’s decision to allow passage of four Indian ships through the Strait of Hormuz.His assertion at the all-party meeting about close ties came in response to a question from NCP’s Supriya Sule about the benefits of relations with US and Israel, said sources.While the US is a big trading partner of India and a source of high-end technology, Israel is a leading technological ally and has helped India during military conflicts, sources quoted the minister as saying at the meeting.While the minister did not elaborate, his comment on Israeli assistance during military conflicts was seen as referring to the help that Israel had speedily provided during confrontations with Pakistan.While Israeli assistance is hardly a secret, this was the first time that the minister, going by sources, had confirmed the same, although in an in camera meeting.The minister’s statement and its trigger came against the backdrop of suggestions of a tilt towards US-Israel that seemed to underpin questions of representatives of opposition parties.Jaishankar dismissed the charge that India had maintained silence over the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and had delayed offering condolences. He said that foreign secretary Vikram Misri had signed the condolence book the day it was opened.While denying that the decision not to condemn the attack on Iran has damaged ties with the Shiite country, the minister said that govt had to take into account the “outrage” in the UAE and Saudi Arabia over the damage caused by Iranian drones and missiles. He said over 8 million Indians work in these two countries.Jaishankar also said that Iran had expressed considerable appreciation for India saving its naval ship, IRIS Lavan, by allowing it to anchor at Kochi port when a US nuclear submarine that had sunk a sister ship, IRIS Dena, was lurking in the Indian Ocean. The minister said that IRIS Dena would also have survived if it had availed of India’s offer of safe harbour and not drifted towards international waters, where it was hit by a torpedo fired by the US submarine.Govt functionaries noted in the meeting that Iran had allowed four Indian ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which it has blocked since the war broke out, and five more were on the way.

Yograj Singh, a former Indian cricketer and father of Yuvraj Singh slammed Abhishek Sharma, accusing for being indisciplined after winning the T20 World Cup 2026. The 68-year-old claims that instead of paying focus on practices, the batter has been doing reels since the team was crowned as the winner of the T20 World Cup 2026.

Most of the cricket fans and experts believed that Abhishek Sharma would have a stellar run in the flagship tournament. Take a step further, some even predicted that the batter could emerge as the highest run scorer as well. The reality is something else. The opener flopped in parts of the tournament.

Why Abhishek Sharma failed to impress in the T20 World Cup 2026? Yograj Singh explained

Abhishek Sharma started his T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a hat-trick of ducks. In total, the batter scored only 141 runs in eight games at an average of 17.62. In the final, the southpaw smashed a half-century against New Zealand.

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The former cricketer said that Abhishek Sharma failed because he was not focused on his tasks. Instead of maintaining a balanced lifestyle, Yograj stated that the 25-year-old walks around doing reels.

“You fail because your mind is somewhere else. What is happening to Shubman Gill, Abhishek? The failure comes only when your mind is diverted somewhere else. That is what is happening with Abhishek. The guy walks around doing reels, that isn’t his job. He should bloody well go to bed at 9 PM, wake up at 5 AM, and play a thousand balls,” Yograj said on Insidesport.

Parties, girls, money, shooting all the time: Yograj Singh

Yuvraj Singh is the mentor of Abhishek, who helped the emerging batter to develop batting skills. Yograj believes that Sharma will need another age to go closer to his son.

“It would take him another age to go closer to Yuvraj Singh. The whole universe works on discipline. That’s how cricketers should work. Where are cricketers going wrong? Parties, girls, money, shooting all the time,” the veteran said further.

The former cricketer is disgusted with Sharma’s batting approach as well

In the interview, Singh bluntly mentioned that he is very much disgusted with Sharma for his batting approach. Yograj criticised Sharma as he often looks to smash the bowlers for maximums.

“I’m very disgusted with him (Abhishek Sharma). There are times when I drop him messages – don’t take this game for granted. He will always say ‘yes, sir’. There is something called a single, a double, and a boundary. Every time you cannot hit the ball in the air. You cannot keep hitting sixes and entertaining the crowd. You will fail”, Yograj Singh said.

The Indian team management, led by the head coach Gautam Gambhir, backed Sharma heavily during the bad patch. Despite back-to-back flop shows, the management never opted to drop him from the team. The batter paid off the trust by registering the half-century in the final, for the winning cause.

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MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The Indian Institutes of Technology continue to anchor the country’s global reputation in engineering, placing multiple disciplines firmly within the world’s top 50 QS rankings by subjects. Close behind, management education is carving out its own space, with institutions such as IIM Ahmedabad pushing into elite global ranks and signalling India’s growing influence in business and strategy education. However, arts and humanities present a more complex picture, an area where progress has been slower, and in some cases, reversed.The latest QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 released Wednesday placed IIT Bombay‘s Computer Science (44), Electrical Engineering (44) and Civil Engineering (42) among the world’s leading technical institutions. IIT Delhi records an equally strong showing, with Electrical Engineering at 36, Mechanical Engineering at 44 and Chemical Engineering entering the top 50 for the first time at 48. IIT Madras, meanwhile, posts four top-50 finishes, led by Petroleum Engineering (29), along with strong returns to the top tier in Civil and Mechanical disciplines.Across the country, nearly 100 institutions now feature in the rankings, marking a 120% increase in five years. More significant is the quality shift: 44% of India’s entries improved their positions this year, the highest proportion among major higher education systems globally.Jessica Turner, CEO, QS Quacquarelli Symonds, said: “India’s rise this year is not just about scale: it’s about momentum in quality and global competitiveness. The breadth of improvement across engineering, technology and business signals a system that is accelerating with intent.”The gains are most visible in engineering. Chemical Engineering alone now has five Indian institutions in the global top 100, up from two. Electrical and Mechanical engineering each have six. Civil engineering has five. In Mineral and Mining Engineering, four institutions sit in the top 50.Computer science, once a thinner area of representation, has expanded rapidly. Ten Indian institutions now feature in the top 200, with IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi leading at 44 and 45 respectively-their highest-ever ranks.Moreover, IIT Kharagpur has entered Petroleum Engineering at 28 on debut and climbed sharply in Mineral and Mining Engineering. Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani has moved into the global top 50 in Pharmacy and Pharmacology. Vellore Institute of Technology has broken into the top 100 in Electrical Engineering for the first time.Beyond engineering. Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad has climbed to 21 in Business and Management Studies and made a debut at the same rank in Marketing, the first time an Indian institution has been ranked in that discipline. In medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences has reached its highest-ever global position at 105.

Liam Livingstone of England during a nets session at Edgbaston on May 24, 2024 in Birmingham, England. (Photo/Getty Images)

England Cricket Board’s (ECB) managing director Rob Key has responded to comments made by all-rounder Liam Livingstone, saying the player remains in contention for selection despite his recent criticism of the team management.Livingstone, who has not played international cricket since England’s winless campaign in the ICC Champions Trophy under former captain Jos Buttler, had told ESPNCricinfo that the management, including Key and head coach Brendon McCullum, did not show enough concern for players once they were dropped. He also said Key did not communicate with him before his central contract expired, claiming he was told there were “100 more important things to do”.